The development of new medical technologies has provided an increasing number of options available to doctors for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The availability of such equipment has improved the ability of doctors and surgeons to detect and treat cardiovascular disease. Intravascular imaging technologies have enabled doctors to create and view a variety of images generated by a sensor inserter within a vasculature. Such images compliment traditional radiological imaging techniques such as angiography by providing images of the tissue within vessel walls rather than showing a two dimensional lumen image.
In the area of cardiovascular imaging, doctors now routinely rely upon a variety of products and technologies including intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), angiogram, and MRI imaging devices. In fact, a recent trend is to combine external and invasive (IVUS) imaging methods within a single session with a patient. In fact such diverse technologies are now used even simultaneously to improve tracking the progress of a diagnostic and/or treatment device mounted upon a catheter during treatment of a patient.
Known IVUS systems such as the InVision system from Volcano Corporation are relatively large multi-component systems that are mounted upon a trolley that takes up a space about the size of a small refrigerator. These systems contain the displays, control panels, power supplies and computers in a single large chassis that is mounted upon a set of wheels to facilitate easy movement to any operating room/imaging lab where it is needed.
The benefits of IVUS systems are well documented. However, in a relatively crowded operating room environment, the mechanical configuration of known trolley-based IVUS systems can pose problems with regard to having clear, unobstructed access to a patient. Therefore, recent versions of IVUS systems have expanded the form factor options from the trolley to ones that adopt a “distributed integration” approach wherein the components are separated (i.e., they no longer reside within a single chassis) and integrated with existing support structures within an operating room/catheter lab. In a known system, a monitor is mounted permanently on a boom above a patient table, a controller is mounted upon a rail on the patient table, a CPU is placed proximate the patient table, and a patient interface module is connected to the CPU via a short cable. In the known system, the short power/communications cable connecting the patient interface module to the patient interface module is limited in length and restricts placement of the CPU.
Another potential barrier to adoption of invasive imaging techniques is the ease of use of such systems. Known systems tend to include generalized interfaces that are not particularly suited/adapted for use in a catheter lab where space is limited and ease of use is desired when a procedure must be completed potentially very quickly and without error. Training is a problem due to staff turn over, so a system that is easy to learn how to use and retain the information is very important.